First-time unemployment claims start to fall

OLYMPIA — While the local unemployment rate is still more than twice the normal for this time of year, first-time unemployment claims in Grant County fell by 11.6 percent from the previous week for the week ending on May 2, according to the Washington Employment Security Department.

In the week ending May 2, 869 Grant County residents filed first-time unemployment claims, down from 983 the week before but more than 10 times the number of first-time claims from the same week in 2019, the ESD said in a weekly report.

Across the state, first-time claims for unemployment insurance fell from 137,605 to 100,762. The last week of March, the number was nearly 182,000 due to the post-COVID-19 closure.

The ESD reported 4,033 continuing claims for unemployment insurance in the county for the week ending May 2, an effective unemployment rate of 5.3 percent, compared with a statewide rate of 6.3 percent.

In Adams County, first-time unemployment claims fell to 259 for the week ending May 2, down from 292 the prior week. It was still the second worst week for Adams County workers since the COVID-19 closures were imposed in late March.